THE FATHER OF a little girl who was on the Late Late Toy Show has described to TheJournal.ie how his daughter was the subject of online abuse after her appearance.
Lara Reddy from Swords spoke to Ryan Tubridy about a number of toys and started their chat by singing:
My Little Pony, skinny and bony, went to the stable, to die on the table.
Lara’s dad Mark said people jumped on social media and accused Lara and her parents of encouraging the abuse of animals.
“People were saying I was a bad father and I was teaching animal cruelty.”
One such comment stated, “Wasn’t particularly funny with so many horses starved to death over the past few years.”
However, Reddy pointed out:
My Little Pony is a cartoon, there was no correlation between real ponies and the song which is sung in all school yards by My Little Pony fans.
Lara also sang ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen with a singing Elsa doll and had fun with Tubridy by refusing to give him the microphone and later spraying the presenter with a toy gun.
Mark Reddy added that other comments described her as “spoilt and rude”. Reddy said, “There were racist comments with paedophilic undertones in some.
By the time we got home our social media feed had just blown up, it was absolutely crazy.
“The abuse stemmed from outright hate and racism, paedophilia, and then general negative comments made against a six-year-old following a three-minute rehearsed segment in a live show.”
Another comment seen by TheJournal.ie stated, “Yea well she’s Asian, they normally eat them.”
‘Memory of a lifetime’
Lara’s dad described the excitement the family felt when Lara was picked to go on the show, saying, “We as parents thought it would be a memory of a lifetime.
“She was chosen above thousands and she was delighted to get the opportunity.”
He also added that the family were treated “with the greatest amount of respect” at the show by RTÉ staff, saying they were “extremely kind and genuinely decent people”.
Speaking about the negative reaction that his daughter has received, Reddy said:
People don’t know her, she’s a six-year-old girl. It’s very sad to think that people would take time to write horrible comments like this.
“As parents we are responsible for making the world a better place for our children, we model good behaviour and openness, we accept difference of beliefs and opinion and we don’t mind if these opinions don’t match our own. But to take time out to publicly bash a six-year-old is shocking, dangerous and very worrying and so needs addressing and challenging.”
Reddy also pointed out that Lara was adopted when she was six months old, saying:
“You wouldn’t think she had problems with confidence but she would have things that come with being adopted and we do our best for her.
We do anything that we can to try and help her and to be abused like this is very worrying.
“We know we can’t protect her from everything in life. She knows there are bad people in the world, but she also knows there are more good than bad.”
Reddy was also quick to point out that many people stuck up for his daughter online, “People came forward straight away and challenged them.”
The abuse directed at Lara was inconsequential in comparison to the kindness of others.
Describing the impact the abuse has had on his wife and himself, Reddy added:
It’s very upsetting for us both and we would be very cautious now. You could take it if it was against yourself – but a six-year-old.
“Lara will never know of this side until she is old enough. She is still delighted with the experience and as a family it’s a positive memory we will have for a lifetime, although slightly tinged for myself and my wife.”
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